A day after several lawmakers withdrew co-authorship of the Freedom of Information bill at the House of Representatives following “restrictive” revisions by the executive, Malacañang maintained that its version sticks to the spirit of the proposed law.
“Hindi po namin naiintidihan kung ano ‘yung kanilang ibig sabihin ‘nung sinabi nilang ‘yung version daw po ng Malacañang [ay] nililimitahan ‘yung kalayaan para doon sa impormasyon na hinahanap ng ating publiko,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a news briefing Tuesday.
On Monday, Bayan Muna Representatives Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares, as well as Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino, said they will withdraw their co-authorship of the FOI bill due to provisions introduced by Malacañang on matters of executive privilege and national security.
Casiño asserted that the provisions will effectively water down the bill.
“Nagsisilbi ito para palabnawin ang panukalang-batas na ito. Nagbubukas ito ng restrictions sa access to information sa mga mamamayan,” he said on Monday.
On Tuesday, sponsors of the FOI bill at the House of Representatives said they were standing by Malacañang's provisions in the proposed measure.
Necessary provisions
At the same Palace briefing, Valte also rejected the notion insinuated by Casiño's group, saying the provisions are necessary to ensure that government continues to run smoothly, in the face of requests for information and transparency.
“Meron pong access ang publiko to the information that is vital to public interest but without hampering necessarily the work of government. From the get-go, that was the balance that we wanted to strike and we believe that we were able to put it down in the version that we submitted to the Lower House and to the Senate,” Valte said.
Valte added that the exceptions in the manner of national security are also necessary, saying it should not even be cause of debate.
“Everybody understands that national security, by way of jurisprudence and even in other jurisdictions that have FOI, kasama po talaga sa exceptions ‘yan,” Valte said.
Valte added that the lawmakers’ assertions that Malacañang’s provisions would prohibit the public’s access to information were unfounded as these exceptions should be recognized “by way of jurisprudence.”
“Executive privilege is also a recognized exception under jurisprudence. While it is true that wala hong batas na nagsasabi explicitly, kasi wala pa nga hong batas tayo ngayon tungkol doon, recognized exception po ‘yan sa jurisprudence not only in the country but also in other countries that have FOI in their jurisdictions,” she said.
Race against time
Valte also said that despite the impending close of the 15th Congress, Valte said that much has to be discussed regarding the Freedom of Information Bill.
“Well, we expect a healthy debate on the FOI. So we hope that this will not derail those debates. As we have said, there are novel issues that are being raised by some lawmakers that we believe should be taken into consideration when it comes to the debate on the issue itself,” Valte said.
"Hindi po katulad ‘nung RH [Bill, now Law.] Kasi ‘yung sa RH all the issues were thoroughly discussed, marami na hong sides ng istorya. Sa FOI, meron pa po silang mga bagong isyu na gustong pag-diskusyunan,” she added. — RSJ, GMA News
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